Apparatus for making caps



I9, 1937. 1. KIWAD 2,068,235

- APPARATUS FOR MAKING CAPS Filed July 24, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR [Jadgye Jan. 19, 1937.

I. KIWAD APPARATUS FOR MAKING CAPS Filed July 24, 1934 INYENTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 19, 1937 NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR MAKING CAPS Application July 24, 1934, Serial No. 736,623

2 Claims.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for making a hat or cap easily and quickly from a single piece of material. By the term cap referred to herein, I wish to be understood meaning any article of head-wear which will be provided with a body portion or crown, and one or more projecting peaks or brims. With my improved apparatus, the peak or peaks used on the cap is formed integral with the body or crown of the cap so that the entire cap, including the peak, is made with a single stretching and shaping operation in the presence of heat and moisture.

Caps manufactured today are usually formed from a number of pieces of fabric, usually in the form of segments, which are stitched together to form the body of the cap. The peak of this type of cap is usually composed of two crescent shaped sections of fabric stitched together to form a pocket into which stiffening means may be inserted, such as a piece of buckram, canvas, or the like. In most caps, a center button is sewed or attached to the hat'body to cover the central point of joinder of the segments which are stitched together to form the body of the cap. In View of the great number of seams required in a cap of the common variety, the labor entailed in manufacturing it is considerable, with a consequent increase in manufacturing cost. At the joinder of the peak and body of the cap commonly used, a number of thicknesses of material are present which provide a somewhat stiff and bulky ridge often felt on the forehead through the leather sweatband, particularly when a tight 5 cap is worn.

My invention aims to not only produce by an improved apparatus an extremely light weight and easily manufactured cap, but one which by reason of its seamless construction and lack of heavy ridges or seams. is far more comfortable to wear than any known cap on the market. Its complete lack of seams obviates the need for a lining so that the cap is cooler and more comfortable to wear than those with which the art is familiar.

These and other objects are accomplished by my invention, a more particular description of which will appear hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a cap constructed in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a view of the underside of the cap; Fig. 3 is a plan View in reduced size of the blank from which the cap is made; Fig. 4 is a side elevation, with parts in section, of the apparatus on which the cap is made; Fig. 5 is a similar view of the apparatus showing the same molding, stretching and pressing the blank into cap form; and Fig. 6 is a sectional View on the line fi--6 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrows.

The cap in finished form is shown in Fig. 1 where it will be seen that the same is composed of a head portion or crown IEI formed with an integral inturned portion or flap II and an integral peak l2. The peak is formed of a doubled portion extending from the cap body so that it is in the form of a crescent shaped pocket which receives and holds a stiffening member I3 secured in place by the lines of stitching M which extend through both layers of the peak; and hold the stiffening member l3 in place therebetween. Secured to the inturned flap or body portion II is a sweatband l5 which is held in place by the line of stitches It.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the entire cap body and peak is composed of a single piece of fabric, a peak-stiifening member I3, and leather sweatband iii. In addition to the two lines of stitching i4 and iii, no stitching of any other kind is employed in the cap and the entire inside of the crown or body is thus of single thickness and requires no lining. The result is that the cap is exceedingly comfortable to wear and extremely light in weight.

The cap is made from a single disc-shaped section or blank ll of sheet material, such as shown in Fig. 3. The material employed is preferably a wool felt, or any other fabric possessing the characteristic of shrinking considerably under the influence of heat and moisture. The blank is provided with a drawstring l8 stitched about its edge by a row of stitching [9, this drawstring I8 being used for drawing the blank tightly about the former or shaping member shown at 2|]. Shaping member 20 is made of metal, such as aluminum, and is made in the exact shape of the cap to be formed. That is to say, it is provided with a body portion 2! which forms the crown of the cap, a peak portion 22 and an indentation or recess 23 located between the peak portion 22 and body 21 of the former. The former is also provided with a central annular recess 24, surrounding a central boss 25. The boss is removably threaded on the lower end of a tubular support 26, which is secured to the longitudinally extending upper end 21 of a standard 28. Located within the tubular member 26 is a heating device, preferably an electric heater, which is connected by the wires 29 to a suitable source of current. By means of the heater located within the tube 26, the tube and the former 20 secured on its lower end, are heated to a required temperature.

The first step in producing the cap is to take a blank such as shown at IT in Fig. 3, wet it and place it over the cap former 29; then pulling on the ends of the drawstring l8 to draw the blank snugly about the former to the position substantially as shown in Fig. 4. When this is done, a shaped plate 3%) is brought against the fabric of the blank and the edge 3! of said plate fits in the recess 23 between the body and peak portions of the former, causing the fabric to be drawn tightly about the crown portion 2! of the former. The plate 30 is secured by the screws 32 to. a swinging arm 33 pivoted at 34 in the end of the bracket 35 secured to the standard 28 by the screws 36. The plate 30 is held in engagement with the fabric blank as shown in Fig. 5 by any suitable means and while so held, a further pull is exerted on the drawstring l8 until the fabric is stretched tightly over and closely conforms to the crown portion 2!, as well as the peak portion 22 of the forming member 20.

Next, a sleeve 3'! provided with an annular lower rim 38 is brought downwardly and it further stretches the fabric tightly about the former by forcing a part of said fabric adjacent the inner marginal edge of the blank downwardly into the annular recess 24, clearly indicated in Fig. 5. This folding action of the fabric by the member 3i produces the inturned flap or edge I! on the cap. The member 51 receives heat from the heater located within the tube 26 and said member 37 is mounted for vertical reciprocation in a clevis 39 formed on the end of a lever 46 pivoted at M in the standard 28. The lever All is moved up and down by means of a rod 42 having its lower end connected to a suitable foot pedal and having its upper end pivotally connected at 43 in a clevis 44 on the arm 49. A spring 45 surrounding the rod 42 has its upper end bearing against a collar 4% on the rod 42 and its lower end resting against a lug 37 projecting from the standard 28.

When the blank, then in the position shown in Fig. 5, has been left on the former 2 0 under the pressure of the members 30 and 37 for a suflicient time to dry, the sleeve 31 is then elevated and the plate 39 swung away from the former and the finished blank is then drawn off the former. All that remains to complete the cap is the insertion of a stiffening member I3 between the two layers or plys of the peak, the sewing of the stiffening member in the peak by the lines of stitching l4, and the sewing in of the sweatband by the line of stitching 16.

What I claim, is:

1. An apparatus of the character described comprising, a heated tubular member, means at the lower end of said member for detachably receiving a headwear shaping member, a shaping member removably held on said tubular member and formed with an annular recess in one of its surfaces, a sleeve slidable on the tubular member and receiving heat therefrom, means for lowering the sleeve to cause it to move into the recess in the shaping member and force a part of an article of headwear stretched over the shaping member into said recess, the shaping member being provided with a peak-shaped projection, and a pivoted stretching element movable at an angle to the sleeve and against a part only of the circumference of the article of headwear to cause it to follow the shape of the peak-shaped projection and the shaping member.

2. An apparatus for making a one-piece peaked cap comprising, a shaping member in the form of the body of a peaked cap and having a peakshaped projection, said shaping member having a groove in one of its surfaces, a heated sleeve and means for moving said sleeve to cause it to force a portion of an article of headwear into the groove, and a stretching member movable at an angle to the direction of movement of the sleeve and between the peak-shaped projection and body of the shaping member to contact with a part only of the circumference of the article and force a portion of the article of headwear to conform to the peak-shaped projection on the shaping member.

ISADORE KIWAD. 

